Tube tester



Aug. 239 1932.

E. T. PEDRANTI TUBVE TESTER Filed June 14, 1927 Patented Aug. 23, 1932 jQ'UNiTED STATES EUGENE T. PEDEAETI, or

rETALUMA, YCALIEQENIA Anuman@ med ruhe 1'4,v

My invention relates particularly to means for testing automobile tire inner` tubes to"determine whetheror not they leak air;

It is the'custom in testing automobile tire inner tubes'to inflate them with air and submerge them in a tankof water for observation of any escaping air. If only a few tubesare to be tested they are immersed-in a tankof water by hand. :This becomes a tiresome and laborious process, however, if a large number of tubes must be handled or if the size of the tubes isV great.V It is advisable to have the entire tube submerged at once -in order to make a thorough inspection thereof but' this is well nigh impossible if the tube slarge and correspondingly buoyant and the operator is not assisted either by a helper or by mechanical means. been provided various mechanical devices. for submerging an inner tube'in a tank of water in order to test it for air leaks, but they included complicated apparatus in which the tube had to be meticulously positioned and they required a large amount of time for adjustment and subsequent operation.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a mechanical tube tester in which no adjustments are necessary.

Another object of my invention is to proviolj a tube tester which can be rapidly operate Another object of my invention is to provide a tube tester in which the entire tube Vis uniformly submerged.

My invention possesses other advantageous features, some of which with the foregoing, will be set yforth at length in the following descrip-tion where I shall outline in full that form of the tube tester of my invention, which I have selected for illustration in the drawing accompanying and forming part of the present specification. In said drawing I have shown one form of tube tester embodying my invention, but it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to such form since the in vention, as set forth in the claims may be embodied in a plurality of forms.

In the drawing: The figure discloses in side elevation the tube tester of my invention, portions being There have-:heretofore 1927.:y .serial No. 198,761. f

broken away to disclose'the internal construe'- tion thereof. l 1 A rl `he tube tester ofV myinvention preferably comprises a tank of water in which'tubes'are adapted to be immersed, provided with a j plunger supported independently ofthe water tank for immersing the tubes.`

*I have shown in the drawing a preferred form ofV my invention in which a water tank v6 is supported on a table 7 at any convenient "do height. The tank preferably is of sheet metal of a suitable size to accommodate theordinaryautomobile tireinner tubesand ispreferably abutted against a wall 8. The Ytankis filled withk water 9 to a convenient height to 65 `permit the complete immersion of the usual sizes of inner tubes. r Y f `Attached to the wall 8 Ihave provided means for immersing the inner tube in the tank. Preferably the immersing means is '7b separately 4'supported from the tank so that f there is no interruption of the surface ofuthe water in the tank. This'permits'a'tubeto be easily placed in the tank without any lparticular regard to Vthe imniersing'means or its support 'and is `the cause of a considerable saving in time. i

To, the supporting wall 8, I preferably affix i a frame comprising metal pipes. Theipipes 11 and 13 are preferably parallel and are fixed in brackets 14 'and V1b `secured vto vthe wall by suitable lag screws 17. Disposed -at right angles to pipes 11 and 18-and extending pref.- erably parallel to the Vwall 8 agbracing pipe 12, also suitably secured in the brackets 14: and 16. A sturdy frame is thus provided. The Vpipes 11 and 13 extend over'the tank 6 and at their outer ends carry solidly afliXed journals 18 and 19 in vertical alinement over the approximate center of the tank.

For immersing L tubes in the tank, Ipreferl ably provide a memberV supported by `the frameand-adapted to ybe moved toward the water in the tank fordep-ressing a tube iioating-thereon. This member may be of one or '05 more parts or pieces variously associated and for convenience I term/the member -as a whole a plunger. Comprised yin the plunger is a -rod 21-v passing thru the journals 18Aand 19.,y rIhe rod :is Vfreelyrotatable and Y s supportoutside the 'boundaryof said tank, a l

freely slidable in the journals and at its lower end earriesa wheel 22 also comprised in the plunger. The Wheel can be any suitable abutment for immersingv the tire tube in the Water tank 6, but preferably is circular with ra. hubY 23 mounted on the rod 21. From the hub, a plurality of spokes 24 radiate and, if desired, can be joined by a circular rim 26.

In order to move the Wheel 22 tovvard and awayrfrom the tank 6, I have provided a manually operable lever 27 which is 'secured at one end to the pipe 12 and intermediate its ends is attached to the rod 21'. Thelever comprises a pair of straps 28 and` 29 spaced. apart at one end to 'provide a fork embracing the pipe,12. Each of the straps isfapert-ured With a slot 31 cooperating With a 'pin-32zpass'- ingthru: pipe 12togconstrain-one end of the leverpFor `a vConsiderable portion vof vtheir length' thestraps 28and 29 are secured topivoted to the strap 28 and cooperating with asimilar hook 41 aiiixed to the journal 18.

VA rod 42 connects hook 39 With a movable grip `43 pivoted adjacent the handlel of the lever 27. `.A spring 44ordinarily maintains the hook 39in engagement with the hooky 41.

In the operation of my tube tester, a tube to be tested isplaced in the tank of Water 6 and floats on the'surface of the Water due to its contained air. The lever-27v is .released by operation of grip 43 andis Amanua-llydeplunger on said support and adapted to descend upon an inner tube lioating on Water in said tank, and means for operating said plunger positively to Contact the upper surface of said tube-only to depress said inner tube into said Water.

2.v Atube tester for operating -uponabuoyant. body comprising. a tank forfcont'aining Water, a support at one side of the tank and extending thereover, and a plunger'on said isupport: adapted' toi'descend upon said body when said body is supernatant on said water andsubmerge said body bycontact with only thek upper .surface thereof. v

` 3. YA tube tester comprising a tank for oontaining Water, a support outside. of. the boundary of. said tank, a plunger. mounted onfsaid support and Voverlying said. tankV'and mea-ns for depressing said plungerlntofcontact with the .upper surface onlyof av body supernatant on said Water whereby"A said body f iswsubmerged` by .-said plunger. Y y

4. A tubel tester` comprising a-tankifor containing vWater upon-Which `an annular, buoy.-

-ant bodyY can float, a support beyond the` outerl periphery of `saidrbody, `a plunger mounted onsaidsupport to overlie s aidan.- nular body, vand means yfori.lowering said plunger intosaidtank and intocontact-.with the upper surface only of sa.dbodywhereby said f buoyant body is submerged in. said Water. 1.

In` testimony whereof I have hereunto` set my hand. .Y

EUGENE.. T. PEDRANTL pressed `to translate rod 21 toward .the tank i of Water. Wheel 22the'rebycomes into'contact With the tube andimmerses it uniformly and completely below-the surfacev of the Water in the tank 6. The buoyantA tube is maitnained insubmerged position by a slight pressure exerted manually on 'thelever 27. Atthe same time,y Wheel 22 is preferably slowly rotated by hand to bring all portions of the immersed Ytube convenient tothe inspectionof the operator. When the inspec-A tion of the tube has been finished, the leverv 27 is released and is returned by a coil spring 46 to its normal position with hook 39 enga-ging .hook 41. vThe testedv tube can'then be easily Withdrawn from .the Water tank 6 I claim: 41. A tube tester for operating upon an inflatable inner tube for an automobile'tire which is then ready for further operations. l

comprising' atank for containing Water, a 

